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Welsh housing sector welcomes new first minister
The Welsh housing sector has welcomed the official appointment of Eluned Morgan as Wales’ first female leader, following a vote in the Welsh parliament.
Former health secretary Ms Morgan has been elected leader of Welsh Labour after Vaughan Gething resigned last month.
She was the only candidate and stood on a ‘joint unity ticket’ with Huw Irranca-Davies, her deputy first minister.
Matt Dicks, national director of the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) Cymru, said: “I look forward to continuing our collaborative relationship with Welsh government.
“Now is the time to be ambitious and radical by making housing a foundational mission for government, by legislating for the incorporation of the right to adequate housing into Welsh laws.
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“This right will not only provide a route map to a safe, sustainable and affordable home for the people of Wales, it will also improve health and well-being outcomes. Enshrining the right to adequate housing can only benefit Wales and help deliver an equitable Wales.”
Nathan Emerson, chief executive of Propertymark, the professional body for estate and letting agents, said: “Propertymark has welcomed strong engagement with Welsh government ministers, and this must continue with the new first minister.”
Mr Emerson said that the first minister should build on the legal framework established by the Renting Homes (Wales) Act and “deliver on increasing the supply in all housing tenures through taxation reform, using the delivery of the white paper on fair rents and adequate housing to reject rent controls and enhance property standards through improved engagement with landlords and property agents”.
Jayne Bryant has been appointed cabinet secretary for housing, local government and planning, after Julie James resigned over Mr Gething’s continued leadership.
Ms Bryant takes on several big challenges as part of the housing brief. Welsh social landlords were recently told they cannot pick and choose how parts of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act apply after an issue of non-compliance was discovered that could cost the sector tens of millions of pounds.
Ranjit Bhose of Cornerstone Barristers, who was acting on behalf of all defendants in the case – which include the Welsh government and tenants – explained to the court why the sector in Wales should accept the consequences set out in the legislation.
Speaking on day two of the case at the Business and Property Court in Cardiff, he said: “I’m not suggesting they don’t take their obligations seriously. But they are subject to legislation where there are bad landlords so they have to take the rough with the smooth.
The Welsh government has also previously committed to building 20,000 low-carbon homes for social rent between 2021 and 2026, a target that Ms James had previously admitted it was “hanging on to… by the skin of our teeth”.
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